On Saturday, Target once again took part in the Vegas Valley Book Festival, hosting the Target Children’s Book Festival, an initiative the retailer created to promote literacy and encourage reading among kids.
Hundreds of families gathered for the Vegas Valley Book Festival in Centennial Plaza at the historic Fifth Street School. Target's sister festival brought kids and their parents to the park-like setting, where they had the opportunity to purchase books, listen to a storyteller, and make books of their own amid colorful banners, posters, and maps displaying the festival’s “Discover" theme.
“Target came to the city four years ago, when the Vegas Valley Book Festival was in its fourth year, and said that they wanted to see a children’s component,” said Brian Kendall, the festival’s event coordinator, who is with the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs. “We jumped at the opportunity, both for their monetary support and event branding, having the use of their name.”
In all, 21 authors and illustrators, each housed in a 10- by 10-foot booth inside an individual tent, took part in the Target festival. “The authors were encouraged to sell books, sign autographs, give out books if they chose to, and interact with the kids to let them know what goes into writing or illustrating a book,” Kendall said.
In addition, the children were given the opportunity to create their own books in the arts and crafts booth of the event’s branding sponsor, AIGA, an association for design professionals. Each child could write something and draw pictures and AIGA bound the books, which could be taken home that day.
Mayor Oscar Goodman was on hand for the storytelling portion of the event, as was local TV weatherman Kevin Janison, who read a children’s book he authored. Kendall also hired 10 theatrical acts to perform on a stage set up on the street, a locale that required traffic to be diverted. Costumed characters, science projects, face painters, book giveaways, balloon artists, a hands-on printing press exhibit, and DJs were all part of the day, as were free hot dogs, chips, water, and shaved ice provided by Target. The event concluded with a performance by Mobility, the U.S. Air Force Band from the Bay Area.
“Our biggest challenge is that every year our attendance has doubled,” Kendall said. "I see space being an issue in the future. We’re going to have to get creative.”
